Ligers are fearsome beasts, easily the size of its two parents combined. Liger bones are also completely indestructible, often used (after its death) for defensive structures and the like. The liger's commanding physical prowess provides it with a deadly standard attack (2 claws each doing 2-8 points of damage, and 1 bite doing 2-12 points of damage.)

As magical creatures tied to the elements, ligers are immune to all cold-, flame- and electrical-based attacks and, reciprocally, are able to breathe (cone-shaped, 50' long and 20' wide at far end) fire, cold and lightning (each for 3-18 points of damage.) Additionally, the roar of a liger is a magical breath attack that causes paralysis. All creatures standing in the direct path of a liger's roar (a cone extending from the liger's mouth to a distance of 50' and a width of 20') must save vs. breath weapon or be paralyzed for 1-6 turns. Ligers are also capable of flight.

Monday, January 30, 2012

On the inside back cover of the d30 DM Companion, I've included this "Dungeon Crawl Worksheet." It's set up to allow DMs to detail each room from a larger (or ever-expanding) dungeon map, with all the details for the room on one page, including a grid for a detailed map of the room, and spaces to detail: a general description of the room, notes on entries/exits, details for 2 monsters (including HD, HP, AC, AL, THAC0, move, save, XP, attack/damage, special attacks/defenses/notes info), 2 traps (incl. triggers and effects), 2 "specials," and complete treasure hordes (incl. all coin denominations, potions/scrolls, wands/staves/rings, weapons/armor, and miscellaneous.) It's been laid out to allow you to 3-hole punch the left side to put in a ring binder or duo-tang folder. (Holes in image above are only a "serving suggestion." Actual file does not include black spots in those locations.)

Sunday, January 29, 2012

DESCRIPTION
Ophiotauri are most often encountered hiding in their lairs, as they are constantly being hunted for the boon that killing one provides. Any character who kills an ophiotaurus will gain 1 experience level. This benefit is given only to the character who deals the final blow that actually kills the ophiotarus, and only after the entirety of the ophiotaurus's body has been burned and reduced to ash. Should any portion of the body remain unburned, no boon will be granted. The level grant will put the character at the minimum experience points for the next level up, based on the character's cumulative experience point total up to the point at which the entirety of the ophiotaurus has been burned, including any experience points gained for actually killing the ophiotarus.

While an ophiotaurus's main form of attack is to gore with his horns, he is able to cast the following spells three times per day each (as a 5th level cleric): cure light wounds, detect evil, bless, hold person, and prayer.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Today's old old-school artist is Frank C. Papé, an English-born artist and illustrator, better known around these OSR-blog parts as the guy who illustrated a version of The Odyssey as well as Siegfried and Kriemhild. While the illustrations from both those books are absolutely beatiful, they are a bit too extravagant (many in color) and detailed to give them that "old-school" RPG feel that I dig so much.

One of the reasons I like to look through the children's portion of the "vintage/nostalgia" section of Half-price Books, is because most of the books have lots of pictures. Now, you can either assume that's because I'm an artist looking for reference/inspiration, or because I'm looking for pictures because I ain't so good with words. In truth, it's because I stumble upon cool images from the likes of Frank C. Papé. The illustrations below are from Uncle Ray's Story of the Stone-age People, an account of the European caveman. And these illustrations seem moderately reminiscent (though a precursor to) Alan Hunter's Fiend Folio illustrations.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Some of you may remember the "humanoid remains generator" portion of this page from an earlier post. In working on the d30 Wilderness Companion, it seemed to fit well on this page, so it's included with the newer portions of the page.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

While PurplePawn is a news site devoted to gaming as a whole (but particularly board gaming), they are still a great daily news source for what's happening in the gaming world (including RPG stuff.)

They recently interviewed Kickstarter founder Yancey Strickler regarding the way Kickstarter has shaken up the board game industry. He also discussed the sense of community that develops around certain projects or types of projects.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

This is based on something I found in an old computer folder from mid-1997 for a game concept I was developing at the time. I think my thought was, this would drive the magic system in the game (essentially determining something to the effect of a "sphere of influence.") So imagine that necromancers would fall somewhere between destruction/death and spiritual, druids would fall somewhere over by natural and existance/life, and conjurers/summoners would fall over by creation/birth. All that being said, I'm not sure if I developed it on my own from the way I thought magic should work (at the time), or if I "borrowed heavily" from an outside influence. Does this look familiar to anyone?

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

This one may seem a little familiar, as I've previously posted the smaller dobarchú to the blog before. Today's entry is for the larger variety, with updated/expanded stats (revised from the previous post) for the smaller variety. IMO, Neither of these is really "centerpiece" monster material, but both make nice additions to wandering monster charts in greener outdoor areas near lakes and ponds.

This larger variety of dobarchú ("water devils"), like the smaller variety ("water hounds"), are semi-aquatic mammals that resemble a cross between a dog and an otter with a fish-like mouth, that prefer to make their nests in or near freshwater rivers and lakes. Like the giant otter, giant dobarchu are prized for the pelts, even more so than giant otters, considering their comparable rarity and larger size.

They have a particular taste for the flavor of humans, and will attack them specifically (in deference to other races) for food. They prefer to latch onto their prey with their clutching teeth, then drag a victim into the water until it suffocates, leaving the dobharchú with an inert feast to be devoured.

If discovered in their lair, there will usually be 3-4 greater dobharchú -- 2 adults, and 1-2 pups/young (40-60% grown.) If a human intruder is present, all will attack. If no human intruder is present, only the adults will attack, but the young will defend themselves. If a greater dobarchu nest is encountered, there is a 50% chance that nearby (within 100' radius) there will be 2-5 nests of lesser dobarchu (per the lesser dobarchu description for encounters in their lairs.)

These nasty creatures often described as "part dog and part fish," dobharchú are actually more akin to dogs and otters rather than fish, and range in color from dark brown to black. In fact, while swimming, this smaller variety of dobarchu are often mistaken for standard otters, but are far from it, having the strength and ferocity of a much larger animal, and with a speed and temperament comparable to wolverines.

This variety of dobarchu has the same fondness for the taste of human flesh as the larger variety, will attack them specifically (in deference to other races) for food, and try to drown them to disable them, but their smaller size will sometimes prevent them from accomplishing the task, though their ferocity goes a long way.

If discovered in their lair, there will usually be 3-6 lesser dobharchú -- 2 adults, and 1-4 pups/young (40-60% grown.) If a human intruder is present, all will attack. If no human intruder is present, only the adults will attack, but the young will defend themselves.

Monday, January 23, 2012

As conveyed in my post from January 1st of this year, my company name is all tied back into the Chinese zodiac and the belief that dragon years and names are lucky. So that year officially begins today. And boy does it begin. If anybody has every had dealings with international companies based in China, you know that the country shuts down for 15 days. I'm not f'ing kidding. You cannot get ANYONE on the phone for two weeks. Past business dealings aside, I have some fun things planned for this year.

I know some of you are already waiting for that d30 DM Companion. Don't worry. It's very close to ready and will probably release in just a few more weeks.

I've been secretly at work on another project that I'm feeling really good about. And, more importantly, it's been really fun to work on and has given me a chance to do over 50 illustrations so far, with another 50-100 to go.

I've also got some freebies in the works for the followers of this blog. And I'm not talking about PDFs. I'm talking about a few (though fairly small and relatively insignificant) things to actually send you in the mail! Don't get too worked up. You'll appreciate them, but I don't think you'll go spewing about them on your blogs or to your weekly gaming groups, but that's not the point anyway. Just a few small planned tokens of my appreciation for the audience and encouragement.

And now, in celebration of the Year of the Dragon, I encourage you to take a look at this: The Scroll of Nine Dragons, a 18" high by 431+" (that's almost 36 feet) long scroll from the mid 13th century (Western calendar) depicting nine dragons. (A portion of this scroll appears in my blog header and another portion is the image at the top of this blog entry.)

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Let me start by saying, I'm a big fan of Task Force Games. That being said, I'm not necessarily a fan of any of the Star Fleet Battles stuff (though I dig and appreciate it.) What I'm a fan of are their structured, conditional combat rulesets that try to simplify all variables to a bare minimum, and then present them all in an "if/then" order. This was the Task Force modus operandi for its "rules lite" micro games, as well as its heavier rulesets like Heroes of Olympus and Super Villans.

Take a look Holmes Blue for the exact opposite of what I'm talking about. Once you strip away the list of spells and monsters and treasure, you're left with a set of rules that isn't terribly longer than TFG's Spellbinder, which numbers 12 rather text-dense half-sized pages. But doesn't really make 100% sense if you've never played the game before. In fact, R.C. Pinnell has recently reworked the content of Holmes Blue in "an attempt to clarify those things that are implied within the '77 document, and to provide additional data to support the implications." But IMO, all of the early books are kind of that way (Oe and 1e included), especially in regards to combat procedure.

As a graphic designer, I blame this a bit more on a lack of enough variants in type-sizing, or the lack of a numbering/lettering system to help the reader understand when they have moved on to a different topic. For example, in the D&D PH, the following topics are sized in the same manner without any regard for separating them as different subjects: combat procedure, damage, falling damage, healing, obedience. Uh... what? How did we go from combat, damage, and healing to obedience without a visual separation of concepts? (That kind of shit doesn't fly in any of the typography classes I teach... EVER!)

So why do I love Task Force Games? Because the rules are so methodically organized as to be, quite possibly, the most anal retentive rules in the history of gaming. Look at this sample of section titles from Heroes of Olympus:
5.0 MAGIC
5.1 Magic of the Gods
5.11 Regions and Sites of Magic
5.2 Magical Artifacts
5.3 Wizards, Witches and the Use of Common Magic
6.0 THE GODS
6.1 Description of the Gods
6.2 Followers of the Gods
6.21 Temples and Holy Places
6.22 Priests and Priestesses
6.23 Rituals and Sacrifices

Look at that! You always know where you are in the hierarchy of information. The addition of a few numbers goes a looooooong way in assisting with that.

By no means is Task Force Games the only proprietor of the numbered sections and sub-sections. It was more often a combination of the company's background (wargame vs. RPG) and the writer's background (wargame vs. RPG.) For example, Richard Snider didn't do it with Dave Arneson on Adventures in Fantasy, but he did do it on Avalon Hill's Powers & Perils. The latter of those two company's, by comparison, published Tom Moldvay's Lords of Creationsans nombres. Dennis Sustare's Heroes of Olympus for Task Force Games, and Bunnies & Burrows for Fantasy Games Unlimited, both included them. But, then again, every game I've ever owned by either of those companies uses the numbered system, and Sustare designed several games for both.

By now it's obvious I drink the Kool-aid when it comes to hierarchal numbering systems. Given that, does it come as a surprise that I've chosen that system for both Starmasters and The System: Expanded (which are, technically, both based on the same rules skeleton so if one is numbered they should both be numbered)? But there's an added bonus to the aided readability and understanding for readers/players... it's helped me write them as well.

In a way, writing around an "if/then" and "conditional" scenario structure is like writing to a flowchart without using an actual flowchart. And, if a new or optional rule pops up, 95% of the time I know exactly where it needs to go, and how much or little I have to explain about it (based on the rules above and below it) so the players understand. And if it refers to another rule (or condition,) I simply insert that number for reference and no digging into the index is required for the reader/player to find it. They simply hold their place, flip to other spot, then flip back to where they were.

There is one thing missing to me, though, from Task Force Games's approach—interior art. While not necessary to comprehension (and an added expense, to boot), it is quite necessary for personality and atmosphere. But that's the difference between wargaming and role-playing. (BTW, I've always envisioned Starmasters as somewhere between the two.)

The Poetic Edda is a collection of Old Norse poems that is THE resource when it comes to Norse mythology and Germanic heroes. The first recorded versions date back to ca. 1220, but today we're concerning ourselves with the 1895 Danish edition by Karl Gjellerup, with illustrations by Lorenz Frølich, a Danish painter/illustrator/etcher. Ironically, I find some stylistic similarities (though only marginally so) between Frølich's drawings (from the 1895 edition) and Jeff Dee's Norse illustrations from Deities & Demigods.

Of the images here, I particularly dig the dwarves for some reason. Anyway... enjoy.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

DESCRIPTION
Spindlers appear similar to large, overgrown wild dandelions with javelin-like “petals” on their heads. On average, a spindler will have 40-50 spindles, which it will use to attack any non-plant-based creature that encroaches within a 10' radius of the stem. Based on a sort of "radar-sense," a spindler is able to shoot a single spike per melee round at any intruder within its sensory zone, allowing it to attack up to as many opponents as it has spindles during a single melee round. Spindlers regenerate each spindle (to full damage potential) at a rate of 15 days beginning from the time the spindle was expended. In 10 days, a replacement spindle will be able to do 2/3 normal damage (1-2 points) and at 5 days a replacement spindle will be able to 1/3 normal damage (1 point.)

DESCRIPTION
Misoji worms are a species of extra-dimensional flying worms originating from the inner planes. These non-corporeal creatures “burrow” from plane to plane much as a normal worm burrows through ground, and each of the thirty subspecies appears as a specific color analogous to its plane of origin. Misoji worms can only be hit by magic weapons and they are immune to poison and paralysis attacks. Any bite on a successful "to hit" roll from a misoji worm does 1-6 points of damage. Additionally, misoji worms are capable of attacking from the prime material plane into the same plane of their origin (e.g., a burgundy misjoi worm could be present in the prime material plane, but still be able to bite a character in the ethereal plane,) doing damage as normal for the attack, unless the defender has a particular immunity/resistance other than their presence on that particular plane. In addition to the standard abilities for all misoji worms, each subspecies has additional abilities particular to their general type (plane of origin) and their specific type (color.)

Elemental, air: In addition to their individual abilities by type, misoji worms from this plane are able to summon an air elemental (HD: 4) up to 3 times per day.

Elemental, earth: In addition to their individual abilities by type, misoji worms from this plane are able to summon an earth elemental (HD: 4) up to 3 times per day.

Elemental, fire: In addition to their individual abilities by type, misoji worms from this plane are able to summon a fire elemental (HD: 4) up to 3 times per day. They are also immune to all forms of flame-based attacks.

Elemental, water: In addition to their individual abilities by type, misoji worms from this plane are able to summon water elemental (HD: 4) up to 3 times per day. They are also immune to all cold-based attacks.

Ethereal: In addition to their individual abilities by type, misoji worms from the ethereal plane are able to create a prismatic sphere (per the spell) once per day.

Negative material: The bite of any misoji worm from the negative material plane will cause a rotting disease (in addition to normal damage) on any successful hit to a creature that originates from the prime material plane. The disease will continue to do 1 additional point of damage during successive turns until the victim dies or is cured (by a cure disease spell.) In addition to its rotting bite, each worm from the negative material plane is able to summon a particular form of undead to come to its aid (see chart below for specific type.)

Positive material: Misoji worms from the positive material plane radiate a protective globe in a 10' radius (per 3rd level MU spell protection from evil) around itself at all times. This order of misoji worm also secrets a healing ectoplasm that automatically cures all disease from any creature that "touches" it (regardless of whether than creature is in the prime or positive material plane a the time it touches the misoji worm.) Additionally, each worm from the positive material plane is able to summon a particular type of humanoid to come to its aid (see chart below for specific type.)

Thursday, January 12, 2012

DESCRIPTION
Sarcophagal worms are undead, worm-like creatures created by evil clerics from the intestinal remains of someone that has been mummified, intended to bring that person eternal torment in the afterlife. Two conditions must be met to create sarcophagal worms—first, the intestines must not have been removed during the mummification process, and second, the cleric must be of sufficient level (10th or above) and read the required spell from the proper spell book. Once the mummified corpse's sarcophagus has been closed, the worms will grow from the intestinal remains of the deceased, writhing inside the body.

Because sarcophagal worms are created from the remains of the mummified corpse, like the mummy they are undead and exist in both the normal and the positive material plane. They are, therefore, immune to poison, sleep, charm, hold and cold, and are only susceptible to (other) spells, fire and magic weapons, all of which do only half the normal damage. Any sarcophagal worm splashed with a vial of holy water will die automatically.

Sarcophagal worms have a bite that does 1-4 points of damage and inflicts the same rotting disease as the mummies from which they grow (reduces healing rate to 1/10, immune to magical healing, must be cured magically) and any creature killed by a sarcophagal worm is subject to the same conditions as being killed by a mummy (cure disease and raise dead spells must be cast within 6 turns of death to be effective.) Sarcophagal worms do not have the same effect of paralyzing fear as a mummy. However, every bite inflicted by a sarcophagal worm reduces by one point the affected character's saving throws versus that mummy.

Any mummy cursed with sarcophagal worms is immune to the spell raise dead and, therefore, may never again become human.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

DESCRIPTION
Rider worms are rust colored and their skin has the appearance of wet red clay. They are quite fast moving and their five-fanged bite emits a very effective paralytic toxin (all saves at -3, duration of 6-24 turns.)

Rider worms enjoy a symbiotic relationship with their carriage worm hosts (see carriage worm), wherein the rider worm does the carriage worm's bidding in furtherance of subduing its prey and, in return, the carriage worm provides it's parasitic forces with nutrition and sustenance. While rider worms are typically non-intelligent, the telepathic commands they receive (through a morse-code like system of electronic pulses) from their carriage worm host are able to provide them with basic objectives against a carriage worm's prey (e.g., to bite a specific nearby creature, to retreat, etc.)

Given the type and the duration of the rider worm's toxin, it is not uncommon for victims debilitated by a rider worm to be lubricated and ingested by the carriage worm, and remain conscious while being digested. The by-product of this digestive process is an intoxicating secretion that provides the rider worm all the nutrients it needs.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

PLASE NOTE: Tuesdays is normally "Illustration of the Week" day, so I hope today's listing lives up to the both the promise of an "Illustration of the Week, as well as a new "Worm Week" entry.

DESCRIPTION
The carriage worm appears as a giant armored worm with overlapping plates, and its head features a sucker like mouth and a pair of optic tentacles. A carriage worm is most active when the ground is moist (e.g., after a long rain) and at night, preferring to avoid the light and heat of day. When burrowing, it's not uncommon for its immense size and length to produce tunnels up to 7' in diameter and dozens of miles long.

At any given time, a carriage worm has 20-30 rider worms (see rider worm) under the folds of its plates and it acts as a sort of "host" for the rider worms who feed from the carriage worm through a series of secretion glands located under its plates. In attack situations, the carriage worm communicates telepathically with its passengers, ordering them to attack the carriage worm's opponent(s.) When the rider worms have successfully paralyzed the carriage worm's victims, they will climb back under the plates of the carriage worm, then the carriage worm will discharge a lubricating sputum from its mouth and devour its prey whole. As the carriage worm's meal is digested, it creates the intoxicating secretion from which the rider worms extract their nutrition.

The carriage worm can "spit" its slippery secretion up to a distance of 10'. Upon a successful "to hit" roll, the worm's target loses 1 point of armor class per digit of the resulting "to hit" roll over the target "to hit" number, until the secretion has been cleaned off.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Please note: while a "death worm" does exist in 4e (also based on the Mongolian death worm), the creature detailed here is much more in line with the old-school spirit, considering its rather small size (approx. 2-3' long) in relation to its deadliness.

DESCRIPTION
The crimson death worm is a segmented, sausage-like invertebrate that prefers to live in dark, cool, moist areas underneath otherwise dry desert terrain. While they do nest, they are generally burrowers that will not hesitate to abandon dry, hot areas in search of more hospitable accommodations. Crimson death worms feed on a particular family of toxic plants whose red conical flowers not only give the death worm its deep red color, but poisonous abilities as well. While the crimson death worm is relatively small (averaging 2-1/2' in length), it is truly a formidable foe.

Crimson death worms tend to hide while burrowing and will surprise on a 1-3 (on a six-sided die.) The creature's main form of attack is an electrical bolt (2d4) which it will not hesitate to use should any other creature come to close (15'); it may use this attack up to ten times per day. The crimson death worm also has a nasty bite, that combines both shredding teeth (1d4 on hit) and poison (save vs. poison or die in 1-6 turns.)

These scarlet annelids feature three forms of defense. The first is a poisonous secretion that envelopes it body; any creature coming in direct contact with any part of the worm's body must save vs. poison or die in 2d4 turns. The second is an immunity to any form of electrical attack. The third is an explosive defense caused by any successful "to hit" from a edged weapon or flame attack, or by any successful hit from a physical attack (including non-electrical magical attacks like magic missile) that does 3 or more hit points of damage; upon either of these conditions, the worm will "explode" spraying a toxic acid on everything in a 5' radius of the creature, causing 2d4 damage (acid) to affected creatures; additionally, any creature affected by the acid must save vs. poison or die in 3d6 turns; this explosion defense is fatal to the worm.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

As mentioned previously in my Discovered Dungeons posts, I used the equipment at my Dad's office to put together a "book" called Maps I, which was little more than a velo-bound photocopy of about a dozen pages of maps I'd drawn in 8th and 9th grades. Nevertheless, Maps I did include my first "monster." (I may be pushing it a bit to call it that.)

The creature was a half-elf/half-halfing, a genetic offspring that at least one person suggests would be infertile, and therefore very rare. The odder part was the name I gave this creature... "beguine." I knew of the musical/dance style (there wasn't a "beguine" button on my Casio MT 40, but I think my best friend's Lowrey organ had one), but I figured it was obscure enough no one would care (or at least I didn't.) I did not, however, know of the monastic use of the term. Regardless of either, the pronunciation in my head was ""be-GINE" (with a hard "g")... so that's different enough. Right?

The stats and description are pretty jacked up. It's pretty obvious I just "split the differences" between the elf and halfling descriptions. They're a little off-kilter for system mechanics; take a look at the movement of 11". In the 1e monster manual, there's only a handful of creatures whose movement isn't a multiple of 3", including the clay and flesh golems, and the gray ooze.)

Now lets's look at the drawing. Why did I make him bald? Did I think that somehow elf and halfling parents (known for their long and curly hair, respectively) would somehow genetically result in a folliclely-challenged kid? Or was I just obsessed with Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces?

I do still like the idea of a small, bald, pointy-eared, furry-footed humanoid. Maybe I'll tweak the description and the stats, rename it and repost it as a monster of the week.

Friday, January 6, 2012

This week's d30 Feature is taken from the "Treasure" section of the d30 DM Companion, and features bell-curved results for all the coin rolls for individual treasure types (J thru N.)

The "Treasure" section of the book also features a series of sub-type tables (gold, platinum, gems, magic items, etc.) that, based on treasure type (A, B, C, et al.), determines the % chance and amount of treasure as a single roll!!! No more need to first roll a d20 to determine if there is that sub-type, then a separate die (d6, d10, whatever) for the actual amount!!! The individual treasure types (J thru N, above) are a bit different since the chance is 100% and all that has to be determined is the amount, but take my word for it (with the endorsement of my co-conspirator David Welborn) it really cuts the headache in half for treasure types determinations.

d30 DM Companion Update!
The final charts and illustrations are finished (except for my still wanting to change the back cover illustration; ugh!) and I hope to get the files for the test/proof copy uploaded today! Stay tuned...

Thursday, January 5, 2012

DESCRIPTION
Calytaurs are bi-corporeal creatures with the body of a man and the head of a boar, reported to have originated as the magical offspring of the Calydonian boar and human mothers. Unlike their minotaur brethren, calytaurs are wanderers and scavengers, but will often make sport of hunting humans as an ongoing attempt to avenge their ancestor's death at the hands of hunters. Calytaurs will attack any human on sight and, if the humans flee, will pursue them as long and as hard as possible, until the humans fight or get away. While they are omnivores who will eat any offal they come across, calytaurs will always eat the flesh of any humans they have defeated.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

I'm just a couple of days away from getting the file off for a POD tests for the book, which will also be my proofing/editing copy. I have to finish the "Dungeon Embellishments" page (1/2 done with it) and do about three more small "space-filler" illustrations.

I've also added a "Room-stocking Template" on the inside back cover. It's a page (for photocopying) that provides a worksheet with areas for describing everything you might need when stocking a dungeon room (map, description, traps, monster stats, and treasure.)

Crane, though, is of particular note for his prolificness and pervasiveness. I don't imagine there's any book about the greatest illustrators of all time, or of the Arts and Crafts Movement, or the history of Children's literature for that matter, that doesn't bear his name somewhere in its pages.

But, for the purpose of today's blog, here's some badass RPG-lookin' art. (BTW, check out the political cartoon. Even that's pretty badass, with it's vampire bat and whatnot.)

Sunday, January 1, 2012

When I originally concocted the name New Big Dragon, it was just after Chinese New Year in the year 2000, the beginning of a Year of the Dragon. New Big Dragon was conceived originally as more of a branding company, but with a general eye on any and all forms of media, so we (myself and my original biz partner) wanted something that sounded more like a movie production company than ad agency. I just thought it sounded cool, and I was "influenced" by the name of a fairly well-known Chinese restaurant in Dallas named New Big Wong. Obviously, the operators at the phone company thought it sounded like a restaurant too, as we would occasionally get calls for persons wishing to make a delivery order.

Traditional Chinese belief states that businesses begun in a Year of the Dragon are more inclined to succeed, particularly if they are named after the Dragon as well. Furthermore, they are said to be additionally lucky in succeeding dragon years (the next one begins in 23 days.) As business goes, the name has had its good years and bad years, and its active years and dormant years. Now I use the name for most of my personal media endeavors, mostly including video/documentary work, short films, the typography book I'm authoring, and the gaming endeavors.

While the origins of the name came from the Chinese traditions and influences (and not the gaming origins one might expect 'round these parts), that doesn't change the fact that I'm a native-born Cajun, a transplant to Texas, a Catholic, and a citizen of the U.S. of A. and, therefore, am undeniably tied to the Gregorian calendar. And since most of my self-improvement resolutions are generally tied to Lent, I prefer to use New Year's as a time for goal-setting-centric resolutions. So with that in mind, I present to you my New Big Dragon Games goal-centric resolutions for the Year of Our Lord 2012...

1) Publish 1 "substantial" item ever 2 months.
I'm thinking (at the least) manuals here, not one-off single-page charts and the like (I'm averaging 1 of those a week right now.) These do not have to be "started new in 2012" items and, in some cases, may date back a dozen or more years to their inception/origin. Also, that's an "average" per the calendar year. As of this post, my planned releases (in most likely order) are:
• the d30 DM Companion
• the Dungeon Crawl Workbook
• Module SK1: The Mysterious Mist of Foxpond
• Starmasters Book I: Characters and Combat (Beta Edition)
• a Oe "lookalike" edition of a particular public domain work (decided, but TBA)
• the d30 DM Companion: Wilderness Edition

2) Add a "New Monster of the Week" feature
I feel like I keep a pretty good schedule of posts, so I'm not looking to increase my number of posts particularly, just add another "focused" feature that has some anthology potential. I've been pretty good about my Illustration of the Week and weekly d30 feature, and have posted a few new monsters. I'd just like to step it up; I feel like increased pressure from these kinds of things keeps me creatively challenged and leads me to interesting concepts I wouldn't find otherwise.

3) Get to know a few of you in person!
Between the Skyped Starmasters playtests, the physical distance between many of us, and my rare-to-nonexistent presence at any kind of cons/meetups, this may seem the hardest goal of the bunch. But I'm planning on at least attending this year's North Texas RPG Con. So maybe that will change.

May all of you, no matter where you are or which calendar you follow, have a blessed new year, and thanks for reading!